[FMMIKA] Chapter 281: Shameless and Threat

"Ahh... so boring..."

Meanwhile, while the Dragon Emperor contemplated the world's future, in a bland corner of the Palace of Versailles' guest room, a certain Gudako rolled back and forth.

Fujimaru Ritsuka, who boasted of an excellent body and good looks and aspired to make a name for herself in the Dragon Emperor's harem, appeared outwardly bored but was, in reality, quite anxious.

Artorius didn't excessively restrict her actions. It would be simple for her to escape if she wanted to. But that wouldn't serve any purpose.

The connection with Chaldea headquarters was still severed after the last connection with Mash. Ritsuka wondered if Da Vinci and Doctor Roman were worried after all this time had passed.

What was even more important was Mash's betrayal and the fact that, apart from Mash, the other temporary Servants who had joined had also betrayed her.

Not only that, they now referred to the Dragon Emperor as their 'Master' as if they had become his loyal servants.

The only one who didn't display such tendencies was the Saint, Jeanne d'Arc.

But it seemed she had also stopped helping Chaldea, showing no allegiance to the Dragon Empire either.

When Ritsuka went to see her, Jeanne was not like the other Servants, constantly calling Artorius 'Master'. She was just in deep thought as if pondering whether to have Coca-Cola or Pepsi today.

In Ritsuka's opinion, Jeanne had surely been swayed, but she was still hesitating. It was likely that in no time, she would reluctantly fall into the emperor's arms and be charmed like the rest.

'Ahh, this is so frustrating.'

Thinking about how Artorius was surrounded by a flock of admirers these past few days, Ritsuka found it extremely annoying.

They were all her Servants, so why had they all become part of his harem?

Ritsuka did acknowledge that the emperor was extremely handsome and charming. He surpassed all the handsome men in history.

But wasn't this all happening too quickly?

What about humility? What about principles? What about the pride of being a Heroic Spirit? Were they all discarded just like that?

'Really... if that's the case, then don't blame me for being impolite!'

With this in mind, Ritsuka's anger surged, and she lost her nonexistent modesty.

'If humility, principle, and pride can all be abandoned, then so can I!'

'I'll be even more thorough than they are!'

That's how it was. When Artorius saw Ritsuka again, he was taken aback.

When he opened the door, he found Ritsuka neatly folding her Chaldea's Master outfit and placing it beside her. She was completely naked, prostrated in front of him, her body flat on the ground, as if surrendering completely.

Artorius didn't know what to say for a moment.

Although it was only a few seconds.

Considering Artorius's status, being able to leave him speechless for a few seconds was quite an achievement for Ritsuka.

"Are you this shameless, Senpai?"

Mash, standing beside Artorius, was also taken aback. She had always known that her senpai had a low morality index, but she had no idea it was this low.

"No wonder Chaldea chose her as a Master; her shamelessness knows no bounds."

"..."

After remarking like that, Artorius remained silent for a few seconds, mentally storing the scene where Ritsuka apologized while naked, then snapped his fingers.

Ritsuka across from him suddenly floated up amid a surprised "Wow!"

Floating like a cute anime girl was all fine and dandy, but it was an entirely different story when she started screaming and gesticulating wildly.

Luckily, Artorius was quick.

Before Ritsuka could make any more embarrassing moves, the neatly folded outfit placed beside her had automatically dressed her, and a chair appeared behind her and she was forced to sit down.

Artorius then relaxed his magical control and took a seat across from Ritsuka.

"Fujimaru Ritsuka."

The Dragon Emperor looked at the still-inexperienced Master of Chaldea.

"I need your assistance. There will be rewards once the task is accomplished."

"No problem!"

"..."

Ritsuka's quick agreement left Artorius somewhat uneasy.

"I can handle any kind of challenge, no problem~"

"..."

As Artorius watched Ritsuka act shyly and fidgety in front of him, he took a deep breath. He quashed the idea of punishing her and leaving her helpless again.

'I am a true savior, not some shady boss trying to conquer the world with a facade.'

'I must maintain my dignity and stay resolute. Don't fall for these enticing traps, even though she may be tempting, is temptation all that matters?'

After reminding himself of those, Artorius slowly explained his goals, purposes, and benefits for humanity once he succeeded.

"Umu, umu."

"Oh, I see!"

"That makes a lot of sense!"

As Artorius explained, Ritsuka nodded repeatedly, as if she understood. After he finished the explanation, she widened her eyes in sudden realization.

"I see! So, Your Majesty is the true savior of humanity! From now on, I'm following you, boss!"

After saying those words, Ritsuka wanted to prostrate herself before Artorius as she had done before, but her actions were stopped by him.

It wasn't because Artorius felt pity for her; he could tell that from the beginning until now, Ritsuka hadn't taken his words seriously at all.

Whether it was about the future of humanity, his grand purposes, or anything else, Ritsuka simply thought he was talking nonsense. She had no intention of obediently following his lead.

Her plan was simple and clear—feign allegiance to the Dragon Emperor and plot betrayal in the future. Moreover, she probably believed her act of cozying up to him was convincing, but in reality, it was all a sham.

"In that case..."

Artorius frowned, puzzled about what to do with this cheeky piece of meat.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, leave this to me."

As Artorius pondered whether to use his charisma to sweeten the deal for Ritsuka, Mash stepped forward.

"..."

"Very well."

With no better options in mind, Artorius decided to leave Ritsuka's problem to Mash.

Mash straightforwardly suggested, "In this situation, I recommend isolating Senpai completely and subjecting her to punishment until her mind breaks. Then, we can reshape her into a loyal Master for the Empire."

"Oho?" Artorius raised his eyebrows.

"I never thought you could be so ruthless, eggplant! Your Majesty, you should never listen to her! I am really loyal to you!"

Mash ignored Ritsuka's plea and continued speaking with a calm demeanor.

"There's another plan. We could simply kill Senpai, and then use genetic technology to create a new clone of her. This clone would unquestionably follow our orders."

"What the heck?!"

Ritsuka widened her eyes and gazed at Mash with disbelief, as though she were seeing a completely different person.

"Ma-Mash, in relationships, there's a saying that the bond between a couple deepens with time. At least, remember all the happiness I brought to you during those days. How can you be so cruel to me?"

"..."

"You're right, creating a clone isn't entirely out of the question." Artorius suddenly responded.

"..."

"So, Your Majesty..." Mash smiled gently as she looked at the Dragon Emperor. "The choice is yours. Please decide on one option."

"..."

In the next moment, Ritsuka took a deep breath and once again knelt before Artorius, pleading, "Please, don't do this! Spare my life! Your Majesty, I will do anything you ask. If you want me to bark like a dog, I won't dare to meow!"

Unlike her earlier cheerful demeanor, Ritsuka was deadly serious this time.

"Very well. I'm counting on you, Fujimaru Ritsuka."

Although it wasn't achieved through talk of ideals and grand purposes but rather through a realistic threat, the end result was satisfactory.

Artorius breathed a sigh of relief. He had been concerned that Ritsuka might be an unyielding paragon of virtue. In that case, things would have been more challenging.

Mash had made it sound like she had many ways to manipulate her, but in reality, it was all bluff and a means to intimidate Ritsuka.

Artorius couldn't actually harm Ritsuka or create a clone to replace her. The flaws in such plans were far too glaring.

The side effects of breaking the mind were relatively minor. However, Artorius was an upright person, and breaking his word was out of the question.

Moreover, with magecraft, restoring a person who had their mind break wasn't impossible. The problem was that the more severe the suffering inflicted earlier, the deeper the following hatred upon recovery.

So, sincerity was the better approach.

As Artorius thought of this, he smiled and took Ritsuka's hand.

"..."

Watching the handsome and charismatic Dragon Emperor grab her hand, Ritsuka couldn't help but swallow hard. The negative emotions brought on by her initial resistance to the empire were significantly diminished.